Learning how to be successful

Vonna Murdock is a senior at IUPUI and is graduating this May with a degree in exercise science. She joined DEAP when she was new to campus four years ago. Since then, she has held a plethora of leadership positions, opportunities that she was able to take advantage of due to her involvement with DEAP.

"Several of the experiences that are now on my resume I learned about through DEAP. I don't think I would be able to say that I was an OTEAM member or health and wellness mentor if I hadn't joined the program," says Murdock. Preparation for those kinds of roles was also something she took advantage of regularly. She explains, "Having a peer mentor helped me learn how to be successful, and it also helped me stay on track with my goals."

Murdock says that DEAP's mentor program had a huge impact on her, so much that she became one herself. "I touched so many students' lives as a peer mentor, and it was one of the first leadership positions I had on campus that made me feel important. It was a great feeling to think that I was making an impact and helping fellow students," she says.

Having a peer mentor helped me learn how to be successful, and it also helped me stay on track with my goals.

Vonna Murdock